The Dallas Mavericks look like they had the makings of something great when they acquired NBA star Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks two years ago. At the time, everyone thought the Mavericks had fleeced the Knicks, and it was tough to argue against that.
Dallas sent expiring contracts in Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan, as New York had their sights set on landing superstars in free agency, Dennis Smith Jr. and two future first-round picks. Matthews was bought out before the season ended, Jordan left in free agency and Smith was a mitigated disaster, further cementing Dallas as the winners. However, things are beginning to swing toward the Knicks’ way.
The Mavericks have begun picking things up in recent weeks, but it has coincided with Porzingis being sidelined. Everything that Knicks fans were mocked for saying about Porzingis is what Mavericks fans are now saying. It sounds like the organization is now trying to move on from Porzingis as well.
Rumors began popping up that Dallas was gauging interest in Porzingis around the league. Mark Cuban shut those rumors down, but when there is smoke there is usually fire, and that seems to be the case with Porzinigs.
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According to Marc Spears of The Undefeated, Kristaps Porzingis is a player to keep an eye on Dallas is shopping him with his salary, injury history and ‘high maintenance issues’ being cited as the reasons for it.
While Porzingis made it clear to the Knicks he didn’t want to be there long-term, those are the same issues they had with committing to him long-term. Since the 2017-18 season began, Porzingis has appeared in only 122 games. He missed the entire 2018-19 season recovering from a torn ACL and also tore his meniscus in 2020, so the injury concerns are legitimate.
For Dallas, the long-term deal they agreed to with Porzingis could become a real issue quickly, as they need to give extensions to Tim Hardaway Jr. and Luka Doncic in the next few offseasons. Tying up max money on a player that cannot stay healthy is not ideal for team building.
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The high maintenance issues reared their head toward the end of his tenure in New York as well. Porzingis gets some questionable advice and his brother seems to be a negative influence on him.
Despite being only being 25-years old, Kristaps Porzingis’s value drops every game he misses another game. The Mavericks would be smart to shop him around and see what kind of packages they can receive for him, as they are likely to worsen the longer he sticks around.
